Basic HTML version of Foils prepared 25 August 1997

Foil 26 What is a Pipeline -- Cafeteria Analogy?

From Master Set of Foils for 1997 Session of CPS615 Basic Simulation Track for Computational Science CPS615 -- Fall Semester 97. by Geoffrey C. Fox


1 Familiar from such everyday activities as getting food in cafeteria where one processes one person per "clock cycle" where
2 clock cycle here is maximum time anybody takes at a single "stage" where stage is here component of meal (salad, entrée etc.)
3 Note any one person takes about 5 clock cycles in this pipeline but the pipeline processes one person per clock cycle
4 Pipeline has problem if there is a "stall" -- here that one of the people wants an entrée which needs to be fetched from kitchen. This delays everybody!
5 In computer case, stall is caused typically by data not being ready for a particular instruction

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